


Highlight

by Nickie



Series: All of the lights [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Makeup Artist Felix, Seo Changbin is Whipped, i guess, there's not much plot in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nickie/pseuds/Nickie
Summary: Makeup was like black magic to Changbin. A magic that Felix, a makeup artist, must have used on him, because he was in the makeup aisle all of a sudden, begging for attention from the beautiful employer.
Relationships: Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: All of the lights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995175
Comments: 7
Kudos: 87





	Highlight

Changbin meant for it to be a quick trip to the drugstore. His perfume bottle was dangerously light so he assumed he needed to get a new one - he wasn't keen on experimenting with scents once he had found the one that suit him the best so the visit at the store was supposed to be fast and easy. It ended up being neither.

While picking up a bottle of his perfumes, Changbin raised his gaze above the countless shelves and noticed a worker. The most beautiful drugstore worker Changbin had ever seen. Hell, it might have even been the prettiest person he had ever lied his eyes on. He was sparkling, literally and metaphorically, with his bright makeup and even brighter smile. Talking to a customer, a girl in her twenties, his expressions matched his looks - putting the sun to shame.

Now, Changbin had no bloody idea about makeup. Sure, he sometimes used a light foundation when he felt like it, but anything else was like black magic to him. A magic that the drugstore worker must have used on Changbin because he was in the makeup aisle, looking at the various tubes and boxes with pure confusion painted on his face. He stole a glance or two in the pretty boy's direction, catching his dangling earrings and blond hair slightly longish at his nape. Gosh, can this boy be any more stunning?, Changbin mused, rotating the pen-like item in his fingers while his eyes roamed the shelves aimlessly.

"Hello, I'm Felix! How can I help you?"

Changbin was nearly mad at the owner of the deep voice. He had this little tiny hope that if he stood in the close proximity of the pretty boy, giving the impression that he needed help, the assistant would come over and talk to him, but it seemed someone else had spotted him first. Changbin turned to the owner of the voice, ready to tell them off, but instead he came face to face with the pretty boy himself. A little taller than Changbin (to his huge dismay, but he tried to ignore the fact), Felix wore a polite smile, head tilted to the side as he awaited Changbin's reply. The assistant's eyes traveled down and stopped on Changbin's hands, where he spotted an eyeliner.

"Looking for something in particular?"

Awakened from his daydream, Changbin looked at the item in his fingers as well and put it back on the shelf hastily. 

"I don't use that stuff" he mumbled and Felix let out a gentle laughter, one that Changbin wanted to hear over and over again. He studied the other's beautiful makeup again and his brain seemed to have short-circuited for a while all over again because, dear lord, Felix was wearing tiny jewels underneath his eyes. As if the almost-white hair didn't make him look like a fairytale character already. Changbin soon found his voice again and said what had been on his mind this whole time. "Your makeup is very pretty"

Felix actually looked surprised, his eyebrows cocking up for a second but his face brightened up almost immediately after when he acknowledged the compliment with a smile.

"Thank you!"

"Can you… tell me what you used exactly?" Changbin knew he would have no bloody idea what Felix was going to tell him about. But if it meant he could spend some more time with the pretty boy, listen to his unusually low voice and watch his eyes sparkle as he spoke about something he clearly loved, Changbin was ready to stay and trot behind Felix like a duckling for hours.

“Sure!” Felix’s whole face lit up when he beamed at Changbin, eyes turning into small crescents and the little rhinestones reflecting the cold store lights brightly. He turned around and sauntered to the foundation section, Changbin just a few steps behind him. The makeup artist picked up a bottle, looking quite expensive in Changbin’s eyes. It looked heavy too, and when Changbin stole a quick glance at the pricetag, he nearly choked on his saliva. The guy knew cosmetics were expensive, but spending a little fortune on such a tiny bottle?

“It’s light coverage! Very natural!”

_ And _ it’s not even doing its job properly? Changbin was confused. Wasn’t makeup supposed to cover imperfections?

Felix’s soft laughter reached his ears and Changbin glanced to the side at the beautiful boy, whose head was tilted to the side.

“Am I confusing you?” Felix cocked an eyebrow and that’s when Changbin realised he must have been frowning at the small bottle of foundation this whole time, probably looking out of there for a minute.

“Sorry. I’m… Yeah, I’m a bit confused” with a sheepish chuckle and a hand raised to scratch on his neck, Changbin peeked at the makeup artist. “It’s… Isn’t makeup supposed to do just that?  _ Make up _ stuff?”

Felix turned the bottle in his hand with a deep hum, thinking about his reply but the smile never left his lips. Changbin couldn’t tear his gaze away. He hoped Felix wouldn’t find him annoying or stupid for asking such questions, but when the boy focused on him again with gentle understanding painted on his face, Changbin felt at ease.

“I guess you could say that. But makeup can be a lot of things, honestly. You can use it to cover, change your features, play a role, feel more confident. As long as you’re open to trying, there’s no rules for makeup. It’s a form of expression after all”

Turns out Felix was both beautiful  _ and  _ clever. Changbin couldn’t stop the big smile spreading across his face. He liked Felix’s explanation and he was glad to learn something more about the art of makeup. Felix was an artist himself, creating small masterpieces while using his own or his customers’ faces as canvas. Suddenly, Changbin felt even more intrigued about the blinding boy.

Felix walked backwards down the aisle, eyes never leaving Changbin’s, when they reached a concealer section. The makeup artist proceeded to explain what he’d used on his face that day, why it’s good and what the concealer could be used for actually. It seemed he noticed Changbin’s lack of knowledge, but Changbin didn’t feel any shift in his behaviour; on the contrary, Felix was patiently answering his questions, even the dumb ones, with a warm smile and gentle nods here and there. 

Changbin learned, found out more with every next section they visited, before he realised Felix probably had some work to do and not act as a tourist guide, explaining the world of makeup to oblivious little Changbin. As they reached the shelves filled to the brim with lipsticks, Changbin glanced at his watch, realising he was still holding a bottle of perfume in his hand, waiting to be rung out.

“I actually have to go,” Changbin admitted nervously, feeling bad for dragging Felix around the store and not getting anything in the end. The other boy’s hand stopped midair to where he was reaching for the lip product he had used today; he dropped it in the end to his side and showed a perfected polite smile to Changbin anyway.

“Of course. You want me to ring this up?”

Changbin nodded, regretfully though, as he handed the bottle Felix’s way. He probably should have picked up something more on the way, from the products Felix had told him about.

“Hope you visit us soon again” Felix was beaming again, passing the small paper bag to Changbin, while the other boy basked in the warmth Felix’s smile radiated. Of course he would be back. There was no force on earth that would pull him away from the source of light that was Felix.

And when Changbin got home that day, he found himself reading more about foundations and the various levels of coverage.

Changbin was back at the store three days later - he was actually surprised he even managed to survive this long without stopping at the place. Felix filled all of his thoughts; when he had passed a jewellery shop, his mind automatically drifted to the long earring dangling from Felix’s lobe. Red colour reminded him of the blush carefully placed on top of Felix’s nose, making him look like a doll. And finally, whenever a light reflected off of a clear surface, blinking and sparkling, Changbin remembered the tiny rhinestones accentuating the makeup artist’s lower waterline. 

So of course he was back, and he was back embarrassingly early. Not the-store-just-opened-early, but he finished his tasks at the top speed at work just so he could be there earlier. He had to admit, although his ears were unbearingly hot while doing so, that he couldn’t wait to see the guy.

But the first step inside already rendered the poor Changbin frozen because- Felix wasn’t there. Changbin was more than sure that he wouldn’t miss the sunshine-like boy, even in the very brightly lit store. And he just wasn’t there. Still, Changbin walked in, sauntering between the shelves and actually searching for Felix, hoping he’s just crouching somewhere and organising stuff and that’s why Changbin missed him. 

_ He’s not there. _

Changbin thought over his options, as if he had any choice other than just leaving the store, praying that no employee came up to him in the middle of his internal crisis. He’d been staring at the same purple eyeshadow jar for a few minutes when he heard a familiar, deep voice.

“Hi guys!”

Changbin peered over the shelves and there he was, walking in while sliding the bag off his shoulder. Felix wasn’t wearing any makeup this time, but he still radiated so much warmth and pure beauty Changbin couldn’t tear his gaze away. The other employees waved at Felix and the room suddenly got much brighter. Changbin felt the shelf with the fingers of his free hand, attempting to put the little jar back on it without having to look away from Felix. With a silent crash, the glass container landed on the floor at his feet and Felix, with two other employees, looked his way.

“I’m sorry!” Changbin squeaked when his eyes met Felix’s and he crouched down immediately, looking at the shattered purple powder on the white tiled-floor. His ears burned and he cursed to himself silently, fingers scooping the eyeshadow into a small pile. A pair of shoes appeared in Changbin’s peripheral vision and he got tense when the owner of them crouched down as well.

“It’s okay, I’ll clean it”

Changbin looked up at Felix, the man never dropping his polite smile.

“I’m so sorry, I will pay for that” Changbin rubbed his nape, eyes following Felix’s movements as he used a brush to collect the shattered eyeshadow onto a piece of paper. The makeup artist chuckled softly and Changbin dared to look at him again.

“No worries, it was a tester anyway” Felix’s eyes crinkled in the corners endearingly before they lowered to focus on the task at hand. While the employee was busy moving the eyeshadow back into its container (still intact - much to Changbin’s disbelief; what did they make those makeup containers of?), Changbin realised that, oh lord, Felix had  _ freckles _ . They must have been hidden under the layer of makeup last time they had met, but now they were out in full glory, sprinkled all over the boy’s nose and cheeks, some even on his temples. Changbin couldn’t wrap his mind around how stunning Felix actually was. 

“And done” Felix let out a happy sound, awakening Changbin from his unabashed staring. “I will disinfect it and press it back in and it will be like brand new,” he added after noticing Changbin’s pout and eyebrows pulled together in the middle.

“I am really sorry” Changbin mumbled, following Felix to the mirrors like a kicked puppy. Over there, the makeup artist simply got to work and wetted the purplish powder before pressing it into the little jar carefully. No matter how apologetic and embarrassed, Changbin was still intrigued about what was going on before his eyes. Was it really that simple to put the eyeshadow back into its previous form?

“Good as new” with a victorious hum, Felix showed the container to Changbin, before putting it away on the vanity. Then, he focused on his customer again “Are you looking for something?”

That was something Changbin had forgotten to think about earlier. If Felix had been wearing makeup, he could have asked about a specific product he used and bought it, but the makeup artist came to work barefaced. And to make things worse, it looked like Felix had noticed Changbin’s hesitation, because his eyebrow cocked upwards and a smirk played on his lips.

“I usually do my makeup when I get here so if you want you can accompany me” Felix said, hand reaching out to pull another chair next to the one facing the mirror. He got himself comfortable at the vanity, already pulling out a few makeup products and getting his brushes ready. Changbin blinked, not expecting Felix to let him watch as he applied his makeup for the day but he would be an idiot to not agree.

“Sure” a big smile appeared on Changbin’s face as he slid into the seat and looked at Felix’s reflection in the mirror. His freckles stood out even more in the strong light surrounding the mirror, as if drawn with a marker precisely in just the right spots. 

As Felix rubbed the primer into his skin in circular, zigzaggy, and long movements (it looked like some kind of massage; Changbin made a mental note to ask Felix about it later), Changbin reached over and took a bottle of foundation to study the packaging. It was a different brand than the one the makeup artist had told him last time, the bottle not as heavy. 'Light to medium coverage' the front of the bottle stated and Changbin's forehead creased now that he actually knew what it meant.

"Can I?" Felix's fingers wiggled, hand waiting in the air for Changbin to pass the foundation to him. And so the customer did, but the confused expression never left his face.

"You don't need that" Changbin blurted out before mentally slapping himself. Who was he to tell Felix what he could and couldn't use while doing his makeup. The makeup artist looked just as confused, turning his head to Changbin, moist sponge ready to pat the foundation into his skin. "I mean- You don't have to cover them"

Great, you are making it worse Changbin.

"Your freckles" Changbin's hand drew a circle in the air, pointing at the constellation of beautiful small dots scattered around the makeup artist's complexion. "They are pretty"

The surprise on Felix’s face soon morphed into a warm smile, his eyes lukewarm brown looking right into Changin’s soul. It was this moment that Changbin realised there was no turning back when the angel himself looked at him this way.

“Thank you” Felix’s voice was even lower when he picked up the foundation and squirted just one pump onto the top of his hand. “I will keep that in mind” the makeup artist threw Changbin a quick, shy glance through the mirror before he started dabbing the foundation on. Much to Changbin’s delight, he did put a very thin layer over his freckles and they still peeked through proudly. 

Felix went with pink and red tones this time. The makeup artist didn’t go easy on the blush, adding a generous amount onto his nose, high points of his cheekbones, and even a bit on his cupid’s bow and between his eyebrows. Changbin was immersed; makeup really seemed like a very personal expression of art, because he’d never seen anyone putting so much blush on and in such weird places and yet Felix looked stunning, as if he’d been out in the sun for a minute too long, giving him this fresh and healthy glow. His lids were covered with reddish eyeshadow, or how Felix called it, ‘burnt copper’, with the slightest bit of spark whenever he blinked. 

Changbin soaked all the new information Felix gave him like a sponge. He learned what a beauty blender was, how to apply highlights in the highest points of his cheeks, where to put it and where to go with the blush instead, how to apply mascara in a clean way. Almost sure he would never even use that knowledge, Changbin followed each and every move intently, making small mental notes. He noticed Felix held the brushes with three fingers, his pinky always out like a classy lady drinking tea from her just as classy teacup. Felix loved anything sparkly, that was for sure; even the mascara he chose to use had little specks in the formula, the light reflecting off of his dark eyelashes like diamonds. 

Changbin was… enchanted. Everything about Felix was so new and exciting and beautiful, his gentle touches and attention to the smallest details, the way his lips parted when he was focused on drawing a tiny red heart in the corner of his eye, the fact he always dipped his brush twice into the eyeshadow before applying it on his eyes, the little glances he would steal the other’s way to make sure he understood his explanation-

Changbin was screwed.

“It looks… Great” Changbin finally said, when Felix deemed his makeup done. “ _ Peachy _ ”

The makeup artist’s laughter rang around the shop at Changbin’s pun, his face getting even brighter, although Changbin didn’t think it was possible.

“Good one, um” Felix’s eyebrows furrowed when he stopped abruptly, head tilted to the side. Changbin’s eyebrows traveled upwards instead, not getting what Felix was waiting for before it finally clicked for him.

“Changbin” the boy said and Felix’s facial expression cleared when he finally got to know his customer’s name.

“Good one, Changbin” he repeated once more and Changbin cleared his throat, eyes darting around the shop to hide his embarrassment because he really liked the way his name rolled off Felix’s tongue.

It became so natural for Changbin to come to the store every now and then around the time Felix started his shift. The makeup artist always greeted him with the biggest smile before they moved together to the vanity. Sometimes Changbin worried that Felix was only being polite, as it was his job to tend to his customers no matter what their wishes were, but his worries seemed to lessen when he arrived a bit later one day and it appeared Felix was still barefaced and waiting for him to put on makeup in his company. Maybe he actually enjoyed their little meetings just as much as Changbin did.

Felix’s looks really varied from day to day - one time he created a bee inspired look, with lots of stark yellow and black and a fluffy hairstyle; another day he went for an icy appearance, his blue eyeliner sharp and eyelashes white (Changbin just couldn’t comprehend how good Felix looked that day. His eyelashes were  _ white _ ). And when Felix put on a black lipstick some other day, Changbin unconsciously wondered if it would stay if the makeup artist kissed someone.

Their conversations flowed naturally from strictly makeup and techniques related to little stories from their life, favourite bands and dishes and everything in between. Changbin learned Felix had been interested in makeup since he was a kid, stealing his mother’s lipstick and drawing on his cheeks. When she had noticed, however, that her son had painted his face with poster colours, for the lack of better means, she’d got her son art lessons. Soon enough, Felix had realised that instead of a regular canvas, he’d preferred creating on the skin and so he’d gotten interested in makeup. Changbin was secretly thankful - if it hadn’t been for Felix’s mother, who knew if they would have ever met?

Changbin arrived at the store way later than intended; it was friday and he had to stay longer at work. As soon as he entered he was faced with a very apologetic-looking, and very full-makeup-on Felix.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait any longer” he whined, eyebrows pinched together in the middle. Changbin checked his watch and his whole face darkened - Felix must have been done with over a half of his shift already, of course he couldn’t have waited and worked barefaced. With an embarrassed look, Changbin peeked at the makeup artist.

“I should be the one apologising”

It was weird because, without Felix having to put on his makeup, Changbin had no reason to stay at the store. Sure, he could always ask Felix about their new arrivals and other meaningless stuff but that wouldn’t do. Suddenly, it became clear to Changbin how weird their relationship was and how easy it was to break it, whatever it was.

Felix looked like he was deep in thought, studying Changbin’s face before he clapped his hands together, startling Changbin into a little jump.

“I can’t do  _ my _ makeup but how about I do  _ yours _ ?”

Now, it’s not like Changbin disliked makeup, he adored the little masterpieces Felix created on his face every time he came with a visit but could he really pull a bright makeup look off himself? What if Felix went for an experimental look on him, paired with some other weird eyelashes colour? Changbin worried because there was no way he could look as good as Felix in any of that but how could he say no to the beautiful makeup artist when he studied him with those bright hopeful eyes and-

“I can hear you overthinking” Felix chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything over the top, I know it’s not your style. I am a makeup artist after all, I promise I will make it good”

And like that, Changbin let Felix do whatever he wanted with his face.

The makeup artist bounced around the place like a ball, picking up a thing here and there before coming back to Changbin at the mirror. With gentle fingers put on either side of Changbin’s jaw, Felix turned his head from side to side just an inch and suddenly Changbin felt overexposed. His eyes never left Felix, who in turn let his gaze roam around Changbin’s face, studying his features and deciding on the best steps for his makeup look. And Changbin felt… self-conscious. Because there he was, the prettiest person Changbin had ever seen, right in front of him and seeing all of his imperfections, the small scar on his brow and another, deeper one right underneath his chin. Changbin wanted to slide off the stool right there and then when Felix, as if he sensed the other guy’s discomfort, presented him with a warm smile.

“You have beautiful skin” Felix commented and turned around to reach for his tools. Changbin nearly fell off the stool for real; his ears got warmer at the unexpected compliment. Felix dragged his stool even closer to Changbin before plopping down on it, legs in between Changbin’s spread knees, so dangerously close. His brain was running at highest speed; was it normal for makeup artists to sit in such a compromising position?

“I- I’ll start” Felix cleared his throat and Changbin’s heart slowed down a tiny bit as he was thankful he wasn’t the only one affected by the sudden closeness. Felix’s blush was creeping even from under a thin layer of foundation, a shy smile dancing on his lips. God, was he pretty like that, Changbin mused with a soft sigh.

The smile got bigger on the makeup artist’s face, fingers moving in gentle circles on Changbin’s skin and rubbing the primer in. The customer didn’t want to stop looking at Felix ever, especially from such a tiny distance, but his little massage felt so good his eyes fluttered close pretty soon. A short giggle reached Changbin’s ears and it sounded even more like tiny bells when his eyes were closed; his own lips spread into a pleased smile.

“You don’t need a lot” Felix mimicked Changbin’s words back when he had mentioned his freckles shouldn’t have been covered. This pulled a snort from Changbin’s throat, before it changed into a hum of approval when Felix started patting the foundation in with a sponge. It felt nice. Changbin felt nice, being taken care of with Felix’s careful and precise movements and even with his eyes closed, he could feel the makeup artist smiling. The weird mix of content and excitement, because Changbin could occasionally feel Felix’s knee bumping into his thigh, left him lightheaded but Changbin wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

“Now, for the eyes…” Felix’s voice signalled he was deep in thought so Changbin blinked his eyes open and peeked into the mirror. There wasn’t much difference yet but his skin had a healthy glow to it; his complexion had never looked this even. With a tongue click, Felix picked an eyeshadow palette and turned back to Changbin, who focused on the pretty boy in front of him and oh god, he was even closer now when he had to work on his lids. Changbin’s eyes were closed again before Felix could even ask him. “It’s gonna look nice” the makeup artist assured him once more, brush moving in feather-like strokes along Changbin’s lashline. The ticklish feeling left him shuddering and Changbin was embarrassed of such a reaction, but with his eyes closed every tiny touch affected him tenfold. Especially because it was Felix.

When Changbin sensed Felix leaning away for a second, probably to check how the look presented from a distance so far, he opened his eyes and tried to look into the mirror but Felix moved his head back towards himself by the chin swiftly.

“No peeking” he sing-songed with a playful smile, leaving Changbin dumbfounded and smitten. So instead he gave his full attention to Felix, watching him from up close. He added a little swipe of colour here, a blending motion there, looking so attractive when focused on his task. Changbin really applauded himself for staying up on the chair all this time.

Changbin’s eyes followed Felix when he reached for a liquid highlighter and applied just a drop on his cheeks and the middle of his nose. He could swear he had heard Felix mumble a ‘your nose is pretty’ as his finger glided the highlight down the bridge or maybe it was just Changbin’s imagination because he didn’t really like his straight nose.

“Okay. I’m done” Felix nodded and moved away so Changbin had more space to turn around and face the mirror. Excited, and a little nervous, Changbin did so, eyes meeting his reflection. And damn, Changbin had to admit that, he’d never looked  _ this good _ .

His skin had just the tiniest sheen to it, making it look like he sprinkled water on it or maybe he was just born with the healthiest complexion. Felix had put the highlight right where it was supposed to be, just so it looked natural yet exceptional all at the same time. But what really caught Changbin’s attention was his eye makeup. From a soft brown, nearly creamy colour in the inner corner of his lid, it blended seamlessly through a chocolate and almost black eyeshadow in the outer corner, skillfully smudged into his waterline. It accentuated his eye color and brought out that confident glint in his pupils.

“And? What do you think?”

Felix’s voice was unusually small, worried that Changbin had been silent for so long. Changbin glanced to the side of the mirror, noticing Felix’s reflection in there and when their eyes met, the makeup artist bit his lower lip, eyebrows pulled together. In a sudden wave of confidence, because he looked  _ hot _ in that makeup, Changbin turned around and looked right at Felix.

“I think now we both look ready to go for drinks together”

Oh god, Changbin realised what he’d just said when Felix’s eyes widened and his cheeks got impossibly red. His gaze roamed around Changbin’s face, expression changing every few blinks. Changbin already opened his mouth, ready to laugh it off, but Felix was faster as he stood up from his chair. He fucked up, Changbin thought, watching the makeup artist collect all of the stuff and hiding his face. Then, he heard a whisper, confident and shy all at the same time, and a grin brightened up Changbin’s face.

“I finish in two hours. Come pick me up”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! ♥ you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ficnicks), comments are highly appreciated if you liked it uwu


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